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PLANTATION, Fla.- A rare Orange Bowl without rain delays gave 14-year-old Hannah Klugman and 18-year-old Danil Panarin an opportunity to shine last week at the last ITF J500 event of the year, as Klugman made British tennis history and Panarin ended a long drought for collegians.

Girls Singles Champion Hannah Klugman
© Zoo Tennis

Klugman, seeded No. 5, defeated No. 6 seed Tyra Grant of the United States 6-3, 6-3 to become the first girl from Great Britain to hoist the winner's crystal bowl of oranges, while Panarin became the first boy since John McEnroe in 1976 to take the Orange Bowl title with him to college.

Klugman, who was trying to capture the Orange Bowl title that had eluded her in the 14s Junior Orange Bowl the past two years, worked through a tough draw to reach the final, winning four consecutive three-set matches and saving a match point in her 7-6(2), 0-6, 7-6(2) quarterfinal win over top seed Laura Samsonova. Down 6-1, 3-1 to No. 4 seed Iva Jovic in the semifinals, Klugman rebounded for a 1-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory and a spot in her first J500 final.

Grant was also forced to come from a set down in her semifinal, beating wild card Akasha Urhobo of nearby Ft. Lauderdale 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in her only three-set match of the week.

After so many three-set marathons, Klugman got off to an impressive start in the final. Despite wind speeds of 15-20 mph, Klugman won the first eight points, serving well despite the necessity of extra ball tosses. Grant found her footing in the third game, getting the break back, but Klugman broke in the next game and stayed in the lead. With Klugman serving for the set, Grant had a small opening at 30-all, but Klugman won the next two points, putting away a short ball at the net on her first set point.

"It was very windy, tough to get into points, to feel your game," Klugman said. "A lot of starting and stopping, a lot of short points."